Isolation

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

"TJ said it was weird." Matthew said looking over the papers with Bryce.

"I've never heard of a 'high end dollar store.' What does that even mean? It sounds like and oxymoron." The ginger asked confused immediately googling it on his phone. "It's the same thing as a normal one, but looks fancier and is in a richer neighbourhood."

"And this one happens to sell coke on the side." The blond ran a hand through his hair. He was looking through the lay out of the building and the shift schedules. "What do you think?"

"Well, it's always good to get drugs off the street." Bryce sighed and Matthew nodded. "And the neighbourhood association has made a good case. They don't want that in their neighbourhood."

"I don't blame them." The blond said. "It seems like the employees don't know what happens in the back, just the owner."

"It would be too much of a liability to have the teenage employees know." Bryce said shaking his head. "I think the best time would be close to closing time on Monday or Tuesday. That's when the least sales go down."

"Sounds good." Matthew nodded. They continued to talk and planned for the Canadian to go into the store and pose as a customer picking up some late night candy. Bryce would disable the power as well as the security systems. The blond was to knock out the cashier, there was only one working that night, and break into the back room and take the cocaine before leaving out the back door.

The mercenaries didn't think that the owner would report the theft since they were stealing illegal stuff. Most of the jobs they took were like this, went unreported because the targets were doing something illegal themselves.

"Okay, I'm off." Bryce said with a sigh. He had taken his own job for the night. Matthew waved from the couch where he was reading his new book. "I'll grab supper on the way there. I'll be back in a few hours."

"Okay." The Canadian nodded absentmindedly nose still in the book. Bryce just laughed as he closed the door. He continued to read for another hour before getting up to make something for supper. He dug through the kitchen cabinets and found all the stuff to make pancakes. He happily cooked and ate them drenched in real maple syrup. He wouldn't have them any other way.

Once he was done, Matthew cleaned up his plate and did the dishes. He did a few small chores around the house before grabbing his book again. This time he went outside and sat in the grass in the backyard. He would go out any chance he got. He couldn't sit out earlier in the day since it was raining. The blond sat outside as long as he could until it was too dark to read.

Matthew sighed getting back on to his feet and going back into the house. He sat his book on the counter not wanting to finish it all in a day. He was about to go to bed when he heard the door open.

"Hey Mattie! I'm back!" Bryce called. He sounded slightly out of breath. "Can you get the first aid kit?"

The Canadian ran to the bathroom in a panic. He quickly found the first aid kit and rushed back to the kitchen. The red head was already there. He was sitting in one of the chairs with his arm on the table. Matthew could see a large cut on his forearm.

"Don't worry, it's not that deep. It is not life threatening." Bryce said seeing the worried look on Matthew's face. He could tell that the Canadian was flustered. "I know you know basic first aid, but it would probably be a good idea to know how to do stitches too."

"And you couldn't show me on clothes or something first?" Matthew asked raising an eyebrow. He sat in the chair next to Bryce.

"Hands on learning is always better." The green eyed man shrugged. He used his good arm to open the first aid kit and started to walk Matthew through the steps of stitches. The blond listened closely and was very gentle with everything he did. He was terrified of hurting Bryce. The red head would wince every once in awhile and Matthew would freeze. "You're doing good." He encouraged with a smile. "Almost done, just wrap it with bandages now."

"Do not ever do that again." Matthew warned as he finished wrapping the bandages. He was still a little bit shaken. He didn't care about the blood, but seeing Bryce hurt terrified him. He never wanted to lose the man.

-❄️"Always stray."❄️-

1780's

Matthew groaned and rolled over covering his head with the blankets to shield his eyes from the light. His owner had gotten up about an hour ago. He was still sore from the night before, his owner had been unusually rough. He had learned to not fight back early, it only ever led to more pain.

The blond had gone through almost five owners, out living all of them. He didn't know why he was aging so slow. His last owner called it a blessing, but he thought of it as a curse. It had been decades, but he looked no older than twelve. He held onto the memories he had of his Papa, but they were starting to fade after so many years.

Matthew bolted up with a gasp, a wave of fear coming over him from hearing footsteps coming towards the bedroom. He quickly grabbed a shirt that was almost a dress on him and hurried to put it on and get his onto feet. A wave of dizziness washed over him and he tripped, falling to the ground in a heap. He was so weak and starved, it was a struggle for him to get back to his feet. He didn't make it in time.

"What are you doing on the ground?" His owner yelled opening the door. He took a step towards the scared blond. Matthew skidded backwards until his back was pressed against the wall eyes wide with fear. "Didn't I tell you to be up almost an hour ago to do chores?"

"S-sorry." He stuttered with his head down. "I was j-just getting u-up."

"'Just getting up?'" The man demanded angrily. He picked Matthew up by the collar before dropping him back on the hard floor. The blond looked up at him with pleading eyes, but this only made him angrier. "I hate to do this, but you need to learn your lesson."

"Please, I'll do them r-right away." Matthew said trying to get up. His owner growled and pushed him back down. He kicked him in the ribs hard and the blond stifled a cry.

"That's not good enough Matthew." The man said dangerously. The blond curled up into a ball knowing more kicks were coming. His owner kicked him in the back and the Canadian knew that a few ribs were cracked. He held in every noise not wanting to let the man hear his pain. His owner picked him up by the hair and dragged him into the kitchen.

The man grabbed a knife from the counter and Matthew froze. This was something he hadn't done before. The Canadian ignored the shots of burning pain coming from his ribs and tried to pull away, but he was too weak. His owner dragged him along to the fireplace were he heated up the knife until it was red hot. Matthew was still struggling to get away when the hot knife was put in front of his face.

"Do that again and I will not hesitate. This is your only warning, do you understand me?" The man growled shaking the knife. The blond quickly nodded and his owner let go of his hair. Matthew got to his feet and immediately started his chores fighting through the pain knowing it could always be worse.